Improvement in fire-shovels



B. DODGE & l. E'. ELLIS.

i 'Fire-Shovels. l 72 Patented 1an. 6,1874. No. 146,1

.UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VBENJAMIN DODGE, OF QUINCY, AND JOHN G. ELLIS, OF CAMBRIDGE, MASS.

IMPROVEMENT IN FIRE-SHOVELS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 1116, 172, dated January 6,1874; application filed I October 17, 1873. A

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that we, BENJAMIN DODGE, of Quincy, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, and JOHN G. ELLIS, of Gambridge, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Device for Removing Coal, Ashes, 85e., from the Fire-Pot of a Stove or Furnace; and we do hereby declare that the followingis a full, clear, and exact description thereof reference being had to the accompanying drawing and the letters of reference marked thereon.

There are still many stoves in use which have no provision for letting down the grate, and depositing the contents of the lire-pot or combustion-chamber in an ash-pitbelow. Many stoves, also, which have arrangements for emptying the contents of the fire-pot, are apt to become clogged, as with cinders, or, for some reason or another, fail to perform all expected of them, so that old coal, cinders, &c.,have to be removed through the top of the stove, or the door, Without dropping the grate. This must be done by hand almost entirely, as a shovel is of but little use.

The invention below described,isintcnded to perform the unpleasant Work of removing the contents of the nre-pot, whether hot or cold, in a most perfect manner, without letting down the grate.

In the accompanyingl drawing, Figure 1 is aview in perspective of our device. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the saine.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

a is an ordinary handle. b is ahollow vessel, the back of which, when held in the hand, is about perpendicular, while the sides are made atrile tlaring. To the peculiar shape of the bottom, however, is due the greater portion of its efficacy in removing the coal from the grate. rlhe bottom is carried up until it describes from one-quarter to one-third of the circumference of acircle, the sides, of course, following. So it will be readily seen that, when the body of our device is held in the stove, ready to scrape in the coal, the part b of the bottom is about horizontal, and the contents of the grate are easily taken up.'

An ordinary shovel, having a at bottom, cannot scrape up much coal under these circumstances, for the simple reason that the coal will not stay in the shovel long enough to allow it to be Withdrawn. In this ease, however, the coal seeks the center of the bottom of the vessel, and is easily removed.

Our device may be made of light iron casting, or of any other suitable material.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A lire-shovel, `having its bottom of circular shape longitudinally, and its sides extending to the end thereof, for the purpose herein set forth.

` JOHN G. ELLIS.

Witnesses:

HENRY W. WILLIAMS, B. W. WILLIAMS.

DENJAMIN DODGE. 

